Course description and aims

What is the life? Why? To answer these questions, the aim of this course is to form a habit of considering using basic principles, essential models, and quantitative measures. Seeing the various workings of life and the cells through this physical way of thinking, not the physics with difficult numerical formula, interests and admirations of the physics can be enjoyed. Connecting physical chemistry learned so far with biochemistry, molecular biology, and biology to consider and discuss the "Why?" of concrete biological phenomena leads understanding of essence of life phenomena, and enhance the ability of scientific considering.

Student learning outcomes

1) Overlooking of biological phenomena using number, space, and time as a quantitative measure.2) On the basis of concrete examples, explaining that maximum of entropy of whole system and minimum of Gibbs energy of the system are basic principles conducting biological phenomena thermodynamically.3) Learning theory of random walk, soft chain, and Bernoulli-Euler beam, and discussion about structures of biopolymers and cells.4) Quantitative understanding of biomembrane and membrane proteins, and bioelectricity and action potential generated by the membrane.5) On the basis of concrete examples, discussion about dynamics of reactions in the cells and biomolecular motor.